L 148 

.B72 

1863 

i COPY 1 




REFOUT 

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THOMAS H. BEJ^^ITON, JR. 

SECRETARY OF THE 

BOARD OF EDUCATION. 



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REPORT OF THOMAS H. BENTON. 



THOS. H. BENTOIsr'S Ulill^ORT. 



OFFICE OF SECRETxVRY OF BOARD OF EDUCATION, ) 
Des Moines, Iowa, December 9th, 1863. f 

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives : 

When I left the State a year since, I indulged the hope that the 
Rebellion would be so far suppressed by the present time, as to 
render it practicable for me to return home, and lay before you 
my Biennial Report. In this, however, I have been disappointed. 
For although our triumphs have been signal, the enemy's lines 
steadily contracted, his armies routed and driven back, and his 
means of supply greatly diminished, yet the struggle still lingers, 
and renders it imperatively necessary for every officer and soldier 
in the Union Army to remain at his post. I must, therefore, con- 
tent myself by forwarding a few general remarks and suggestions, 
leaving details to Hon. Henry A. Wiltse and Hon. Oran Faville, 
to whom the management of the educational department has been 
respectively intrusted during my absence. 

Immediately after the adjournment of the General Assembly in 
the spring of 1862, I had the School Law, as amended, published 
in pamphlet form, with copious explanatory notes, and distributed 
to the several counties and School Districts. It was generally re- 
ceived with favor, and removed many of the objections and quib- 
bles that previously attended its administration. I think it may 
be safely asserted that it has given more general satisfaction than 
any law we have heretofore had. It is, however, by no means per- 
fect. Yet it contains many excellent provisions, that must, re- 
gardless of the changes that may be made by different legislative 
bodies, constitute the basis of our scliool system for all time to 
come. 

The chief impediment to the enactment of a harmonious law, 
has been the conflict of jurisdiction between the General Assem- 



4 THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 

bly and the Board of Education. The peculiar provisions of the 
Constitution are such that neitlier body can legislate independent 
of the other, neither can they legislate jointly. Being in session 
at different periods, their acts approved by different officers, the 
legislation of either has necssarily been more or less ambiguous. 
This certainly was not the design of those who originally con- 
ceived the idea of a Board of Education with legislative powers. 
It is doubtless the result of an injudicious compromise, between 
the friends and opponents of the measure, in the formation of the 
Constitution. 

But the time has arrived in our educational history when this 
impediment may be removed. With the close of the present year, 
full control over the whole subject of Public Instruction reverts to 
the General Assembly. Section 15, of Article IX of the Consti- 
tution provides, that, 

" At any time after the year one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-three, the General Assembly shall have power to abolish or 
reorganize said Board of Education, and provide for the educa- 
tional interests of the State in any other manner that to them shall 
seem hest and proper. '''' 

The authority conferred by this section, is of the most ample 
character, and hence it should be exercised with the utmost pru- 
dence. What your action will be, of course cannot now be de- 
termined ; but the tendency of the public mind for the last three 
or four years, would naturally lead to the conclusion that the Board 
of Education will be abolished. Should this be done and additional 
legislation should be deemed necessary, the first question to decide 
is, whether the present District Township system shall be con- 
tinued, or a system of districts formed regardless of the lines of 
civil townships shall be instituted in its stead. If the former, then 
a critical revision of the present law, with the view of rendering 
it more explicit without materially changing its features, is all 
that is required. If the latter, then a work of great responsibility 
and labor, will be involved. Great precaution will be necessary 
in making so radical a change, to prevent confusion. The rights 
of old districts, and the responsibilities of new ones, must be 
clearly defined, and some feasible plan must be devised by which 
an equitable distribution of property and assets may be made be- 
tween the old and new corporations. 

Should you determine to undertake this laborious task during 



THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 5 

your present session, it would afford me the greatest pleasure to 
place at your disposal my personal services and limited experience, 
but as I caunot do so, for reasons already assigned, I beg leave to 
submit the following suggestions for your consideration : 

I would recommend first^ that the present laws be continued in 
force without change or modification for a given period, say until 
the time fixed for the election of School Directors in the spring of 
1865 ; second^ the enactment of a special law embracing all the de- 
tails necessary for consummating the change from the old to the 
new system, to expire by limitation when the objects for which it 
was enacted shall have been accomplished ; and third^ the enact- 
ment of a general law, to be known as the future school law of the 
State, to take effect at such time in the spring of 1865 as tlie pres- 
ent law should cease to operate, and by which all laws previously 
in force for the establishment of schools should be repealed. This 
would give the people ample time to become familiar with the new 
law, and to perfect their arrangements for the transition from one 
system to the other, and would avoid the confusion that must nec- 
essarilv attend all sudden and radical changes. Indeed tlie change 
cannot be eft'ected in a shorter period than the one suggested. 

The special act should set forth minutely the manner of divid- 
ing each county into new districts ; should designate the officer who 
is to superintend it, with specific instructions for his government; 
should embrace an equitable plan for the division of school moneys 
and the assumption of liabilities among the new districts; should 
provide for the valuation of all school-house property, the investi- 
gation of the title to the same, and fix some general rule for deter- 
mining which of the new corporations shall own such property and 
on what terms; in short, it should be full and explicit in every par- 
ticular that may be necessary to enable the old corporations to make 
au equitable and final adjustment of all questions pertaining ti> 
liabilities aiul the rights of property, by the time they shall cease 
to exist. Thus all financial matters would be settled, and nothing 
left to. create discord after we commence operations under the new 

law. 

My reasons for making these items the subject of a special act 
are, that they will be of no utility after the change is perfected, 
and if incorporated into the general law would make it needlessly 
voluminous, and only lead to ambiguity and misconstruction in the 



6 THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 

future. It is designed for a specific object, and when that is ac- 
complished, we have no further use for it. "We wish to close up 
the old record to a given point, and at that point let the new or 
general law commence, and contain all that may be needed for the 
efficient administration of the system thereafter. 

Having settled these preliminaries through the agency of the 
special act, the general law should declare each school district, as 
formed under the provisions of the special act (naming it by title 
and date,) or that may hereafter be formed as herein (in the new 
law) provided, a body corporate, under the name and style of 

" School District number , of the County of , and 

State of Iowa;" should provide for a meeting of the electors and 
the election of directors at the time the present law ceases to ope- 
rate and the new law takes'effect, (naming the particular day), and 
annually thereafter; should point out the manner of changing the 
boundaries of districts and the formation of new ones (such changes 
only to take effect at the time designated for the annual district 
meeting, so as to avoid the necessity of special district organiza- 
tions); and should make all other provisions necessary for the es- 
tablishment and government of the public schools, including the 
election of all school officers for the State, county and district. 

In the enactment of a new law, I would respectfully suggest, 
that much must be intrusted to the executive head of the system. 
Having tendered my resignation, I am at liberty to make this sug- 
gestion without rendering myself obnoxious to the charge of ego- 
tism. Yarious important measures will claim your attention, and 
hence but a small portion of your time can be devoted to the school 
system, and the limited consideration you will be enabled to give 
it will be based upon an indefinite knowledge of what is needed, 
and not upon actual experience and investigation. If I were call- 
ed upon to draft a revenue law, I should apply to the head of that 
department for information, because his familiarity with the sub- 
ject would make him perfectly conversant with existing defects and 
the proper remedies. I should not hesitate therefore to substitute 
his opinions for my own. The same rule should be observed in 
devising a school system. The officer now in charge of this de- 
partment has devoted much of his time to the subject of education, 
and has been connected in various ways with this enactment and 
administration of our school laws. He has had occasion to exam- 



THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 7 

ine the whole system thoroughly and critically, and is consequently 
prepared to point out its good and bad features. His opinion, on 
all essential points in the enactment of a new law, is therefore en- 
titled to, and I trust will receive, due consideration. 

There is a popular error in legislation that should be avoided in 
this particular case, namely, the practice of selecting certain sec- 
tions from a variety of old laws, and associating them together in 
a new one. Two prominent reasons may be assigned why this is 
improper. First, a certain section may have been perfectly intel- 
ligible in the act of which it was originally a part, but when asso- 
ciated in a new law with other sections from different acts, it may 
lead to confusion and misconstruction. Second, by selecting items 
in this way we too frequently adopt clauses that contain superflu- 
ous or ambiguous phraseology. We act from the impulse of the 
moment, and adopt the clause because we think it expresses the 
idea, without stopping to inquire whether it expresses it dearly and 
in as feio wards as possible. Many of the imperfections of our 
school laws have originated in this way. 

Coupled with this, is another practice equally pernicious — the 
mode of amending a law by the passage of a new act, which con- 
tains a variety of provisions in conflict with the old law, without 
specifying what particular clauses are changed. This may do very 
well for lawyers, whose profession it is to ferret out such changes, 
but it is too complicated for the large majority of district officers, 
upon whom the administration of the school law largely devolves. 
The better plan is to repeal the whole soction, and then re-enact it 
with the amendment included — in other words, substitute a new 
section for an old one. 

I must frankly confess, however, that I should consider any leg- 
islation on the subject at your present session, other than that 
which may be imperatively necessary, impolitic. The Board of 
Education may be abolished if that is deemed best, and the man- 
ner of selecting tlie successor of the Secretary of the Board desig- 
nated ; but anything additional, at this particular time, I think 
would not subserve the best interests of the system. The public 
mind is excited, and engrossed with the momentous struggle in 
which the country is now involved for the preservation of the 
Union, and the period is certainly not a propitious one for remod 
eling a school system that has weathered the storm so nobly, and 



8 THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 

continues to work so successfully, as ours. "When peace is res;fcored, 
then we may concentrate our energies upon this and other kindred 
measures, which require more investigation and more deliberation 
than we can now give them. 

There is no special cause for immediate action. Under existing 
circumstances the system is working well — more successfully, I 
am inclined to believe, than that of any of our sister States. "We 
are now fairly out of the troubles in which we were involved by 
the legislation of 1857, and I think no good reason can be assigned 
why we may not continue a few years longer without any material 
change. Some may, and doubtless will, object to the feature of 
taxation. To such I would say, that the j^resent rates are as low 
as they can be fixed without seriously impairing the efficiency of 
our schools. 

Assuming that the youth of the country must be educated, (a 
point about which there is certainly no difference of opinion,) 
we have simply to determine what is the cheapest and most effi- 
cient method of educating them. It is evident that no system 
can be devised by which the expense can be avoided. The money 
must be raised, either by taxation, or private contribution. The 
educational history of this country, or of any other country, where 
a fair comparison may be instituted between a public and private 
system of instruction, will show that the former is not only the 
cheapest and most efficient, but by far the most equitable and gen- 
eral in the diffusion of its blessings. It places the burden where it 
properly belongs — upon those who hold the property of the coun- 
try — and confers its benefits upon all classes alike. On the other 
hand, private instruction costs more, and reaches but a limited 
number, excluding many who have not the means to avail them- 
selves of it. There is also another class M^ho have the means, but 
are too niggardly to educate their children. In such cases, the 
law protects the rights of the child, and compels the parent to con- 
tribute for his education. I would like to pursue this topic fur- 
ther, and adduce facts and figures to substantiate the position as- 
sumed, but it is not practicable for me to do so at present. 

I may add, however, for the benefit of the objector, that, if he 
will devise some plan by which to secure the payment of the reve- 
nue of the school fund, we can reduce our taxation for school pur- 
poses one half. Indeed, if the arrears are paid up, and the annual 



THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 9 

income promptly paid wlieii clue, we can continue the schools for 
two years at least, without any aid from taxation, other than that 
which is re(|uired for school-house purposes. Some decisive steps 
should be taken for the collection of this heavy delinquency in the 
■income of the school fund. It has been on the increase for a series 
of years, rendering a corresponding increase of taxation necessary 
to make up the deficiency. 

The State University may possibly require some legislation. It 
lias thus far been eminently successful, and with proper manage- 
ment, a bright future awaits it. It lias already taken a position 
among kindred iuststutions that is a just source of State pride. It 
is hoped that you will extend to it every needed facility, and that 
no material changes will be made in its organization and govern- 
ment, without due consultation with those who have the immediate 
management of it. It is a State Institution, and should therefore 
be exempt from all local prejudices. It is part of our educational 
system, and we owe it to ourselves, and to the rising generation, to 
guard sacredly the^fiiiids set apart for its support, and to enlarge 
its sphere of usefulness by prudent and liberal legislation. Those 
who are annually trained within its halls, will soon be prepared to 
take an active part in advancing the great cause of popular educa 
tion, and will thus more than repay the State for the liberal pro- 
visions it has made for their instruction. 

Since the close of the last regular session of the General As- 
sembly, by an agreement among the friends of education, the tw(» 
School Journals previously published in the State have been con- 
solidated into one, to be called "The Iowa Instructor and School 
Journal." It is published at the Capital, and is the organ of the 
Secretary of the Board of Education and of the State Teachers' 
Association. It is edited by the Secretary of the Board, and four 
members of the Teachers' Association. Prof. Leonard, of the State 
University, also has charge of the mathematical department. I 
consider it a valuable accpiisition to our educational machinery. 
Much may be done incidentally l)y the General Assembly to in- 
orease its usefulness. For instance, all enactments on the sulpject 
of education should be published in it, at the expense of the State. 
Each sub-district should also be authorized to subscril)e for a co[)y 
and to pay for it out of the funds annually received for school pur- 
poses. I trust it will receive your cordial co-operation. 
2 



10 THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 

In dissolving my official connection with the Department of Ed- 
ucation, I beg to assure you that I shall ever be ready to do any- 
thing in my power for the promotion of its interests. Having de- 
voted the vigor of early manhood to its development, at the sacri- 
fice of health and personal comfort, I cannot in riper years be in- 
different to any measure designed for its advancement. I have 
never so fully realized its importance as since my connection with 
the army. In the incipient stages of the rebellion, when gloom 
and sadness hung like a dark pall over our common country, one 
ray of hope loomed up, like a beacon star,amid the darkness of the 
night — it was the assurance that we had an educated people omvhmn 
to rely^ who trusted in an overruling Providence for support and 
direction. That star of hope has increased in brilliancy, and to- 
day sends forth its rays of living light as far as civilization ex- 
tends. 

Twelve years ago, by some means unknown to myself, my re- 
port to the General Assembly reached the editor of one of the 
foreign reviews. After paying a just tribute to our then infant 
State, he made it the subject of an extended article on the system 
of popular education in tlie United States. Having alluded in 
glowing terms to our national prosperity and scientific achieve- 
ments, he concluded by attributing our greatness to the general 
diffusion of knowledge through our system of popular instruction 
and admonished his own country (England) that if she desired to 
maintain her supremacy, she must imitate her descendants and ed- 
ucate her people. 

His conclusions have been fully verified during the progress of 
the present war. The careful, reflecting reader of our present his- 
tory cannot fail to discover that the germ of our national greatness 
is to be found in our system of popular education. The stability of 
our institutions ; our progress in the arts and sciences ; the extra- 
ordinary development of inventive genius ; the improvements in 
agriculture and the implements of husbamlry ; the substitution of 
machinery for manual labor, accomplishing with a single agent 
that which previously required a thousand human hands ; our vast 
system of railroads and inland na^ngation ; our extended lines of 
telegraphic communication, spanning the continent itself, and anni- 
hilating space between oceans hitherto widely separated by almost 
impenetrable barriers; our numberless avenues of trade and com- 
merce; the success of our manufactories; our wonderful attain- 



THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. H 

ments in naval and military defences, compelling the most powerful 
and highly cultivated nations to consult our artists and secure our 
models; in short, our unprecedented advancement in every 
department of civilization and refinement, can be traced directly 
to (Hir facilities for the development of the popular mind. What- 
ever may be the opinions of others, for myself I can not resist the 
conclusion, that under the direction of Ilim "with whom there is 
no variableness, neither shadow of turning," our system of public 
instruction has been made the Moses and Joshua to save our peo- 
ple from destruction. 

An educated army, with minds to conceive and hearts to approve 
and maintain the right, as well as hands to execute, is a tower of 
strength which the enemy can not resist. Such is the character of 
(Uir army. Iowa has acipiired a name, in the present struggle for 
tlie nuiintenance of the Constitution and laws, that will occupy no 
secondary place on the pages uf histi)ry. On nearly every battle- 
field in the great western valley she has been represented, and 
nobly have her sons sustained her reputation. Wherever a forlorn 
hope has been presented, Iowa troops have been ready to lead it, 
and to seal their devotion to the Union with their blood. In every 
sanguinary conflict in which they have borne a part, their gallant 
conduct has elicited universal admiration. Were I asked to assign 
a reason for this superiority, my answer would be, they have heen 
educated in the public schools. 

Amid the privations and sufierings of the campaign, some pleas- 
ant incidents occur. After a wearisome march, under a scorching 
sun, without water, when the day is far spent, the column is halted 
for the night. The camp fires begin to glow, and the rude repast 
of the soldier is soon ready and quickly dispatched. Writing 
utensils are next in order, and in a few minutes hundreds of pens 
are in motion, narrating the events of the campaign to friends at 
home. An express arrives, and with it the news-boy. Hundreds 
gather around him, eager to pay fifteen, or even twenty-five cents, 
for a newspaper. The news is read, and thoroughly discussed. 
The position of France and England, the attitude of Russia, the 
Mexican question, the Administration and the next Presidency, are 
among the leading topics. Thus the hours are pleasantly whiled 
away, and the privations and hai'<lships of the day are forgotten. 
Taps announce the h(^ur for repose, and suddenly lights are extin- 



12 THOMAS H. BENTON'S REPORT. 

guislied and all is silent, initil reveille breaks the stillness and 
arouses the sluniberer from his pleasant dreams. All is again life 
and animation, and soon the heavy tread of infantry, the rattle <>t 
artillery, the crude joke and the merry laugh, admonish us that 
the column is advancing. 

These are some of the results of popular education, as manifested 
in the army. It is not strange that such an army is victorious. 
For forty years the l^ation, through its system of public instruction, 
has been raising up and preparing (unconsciously, however,) a great 
people, for a great ennergency; and but for this preparation, how 
different would have been our situation at the present time. In- 
stead of penetrating far into the heart of the enemy's country, and 
driving him at every point from his strongholds, the foot-steps of 
his advancing columns would have been heard at our OAvn thresh- 
holds, and we would have fallen an easy prey to his victorious 
cohorts. Mexico, prostrate, mangled and bleeding, is the counter- 
part of wdiat we should have been. 

I have extended my remarks beyond the limits originally in- 
tended. Having been so long identified with the cause of public 
instruction, I find it difficult to restrict myself when contemplating 
any topic illustrative of its utility. While Iowa has reason to feel 
proud of her soldiery, she also has just cause to feel proud of her 
school system — the brightest gem in her diadem — and never before 
were its claims on her for support more imperative. I cannot 
believe that you will sanction any legislation which may be calcu- 
lated to circumscribe or impair its usefulness. Could the children 
speak for themselves, could they assert and maintain their own 
rights, then we would be absolved from our obligations. But they 
cannot do so, until they have arrived at that period of life when 
they are excluded from the benefits of the school system. By the 
provisions of the Constitution, you are made their guardians. The 
funds set apart for their benefit are committed to your hands, and 
upon you devolves the responsibility of providing for their educa- 
tion. May the Righteous Judge of lieaven and earth, who will 
yet deliver us out of our troubles and bring order out of confusion, 
enable you faithfully to discharge the sacred trust. 
I am, very respectfully, 

Your Obedient Servant, 

THOMAS n. BENTON, Jk., 
Secretary of the Board of Education. 



